Garment



'March 25', 1947. Q AESCHUSTER 2,4173% GARMENT Filed Feb. 27, 1946 INVENTOR QLfi/PE/YCE 4 50105722 A05 ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 25, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,417,888 GARMENT Clarence A. Schuster, Dayton, Ohio Application February 27, 1946, Serial No. 650,489

4 Claims.

This invention relates to maternity garments or vests particularly adapted for use during and immediately after feeding an infant.

When an infant is breast fed, itis desirable as well as convenient that the mother wear a garment which may easily be manipulated to bare the breast for rendering it comfortably available to the infant.

The present invention has for one of its objects to provide a garment or vest which may easily be donned and readily manipulated and secured in a position to bare the mother's breast and render it accessible to the infant. The garment or vest of the present invention is so designed and constructed as to be easily slipped over and worn as a protecting covering for the regular dress of the mother especially during the feeding of the infant. The garment is just as easily removed. After the infant has been fed it is generally the practice to lay it over a shoulder for causing the infant to eructate or what is commonly referred to as burping thereby to eject annoying gases from the stomach. Most times during this burping operation saliva or ill smelling liquid is ejected which ordinarily is discharged upon the garments of the attendant and soils and stains them.

The present invention has for another of its objects the provision of a vest which may easily be worn over the regular garment of the wearer during the feeding of an infant, said vest having a protective pad of any suitable absorbent material covering the shoulder and front and rear parts of the vest adjacent thereto whereby not only the vest, but also said regular garment is protected against being soiled or stained, especially during the burping operation.

The invention provides that the said protective pad is removably secured to the vest by having its ends extending into pockets .provided at the front and rear sides of the vest, each pad end being secured in a pocket by fasteners adapted to hold the pockets closed. This provides for easy removal of a soiled pad and replacement thereof by a clean one.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein a preferred embodiment of the invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front view in perspective, showing the vest equipped with a protective pad over the left side and shoulder.

Fig. 2 is a View similar to Fig. 1 showing the vest from the rear, however.

1 Fig. 3 is a front view of the vest partially opened, the right front side being folded over outwardly with its lower corner secured by a fastener at the right front pocket, for exposing the 211 respectively, provided with pockets 30 and 3| after being donned by the .wearer.

right breast of thewearer. The left side is shown folded under and secured to a fastener at the left pocket to expose the left breast of the wearer.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a modified form of the present invention. Here the complete vest as shown in Figs. 1, Zand 3 is replaced with a small saddle-shaped 'shield which may be worn and secured over a shoulder of the wearer, the shield having a protective pad removably secured thereto as in the case of the complete vests shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3.

Fig. 5 is a detail sectional view, at enlarged scale, taken substantially along the line 5-5 of Fig. 3.

Referring to the drawings, the vest 20 is shown comprising front and rear panels 2| and 22 respectively. These front and rear panels are not sewed to each other at their edges so that the vest is open at its sides as at 23. The front panel is split vertically forming right and left sides 2 Ir and 2H. Cooperating fasteners of any desirable type, as for instance buttons 24 secured to the panel 2H1 .adjacent its one edge and adapted to be received by button holes 24a in the panel 2 lr, said holes being reinforced by stitching as substantially all button holes are provided to secure the two front panel portions Zl'r and 2H together The opening 25 fits about wearers neck.

Each outer edge of the rear panel 22 adjacent the bottom thereof, has a pull-up strap 26 secured thereto. Each strap is adapted to be laced through securing rings 2'! fastened to the edges of the front panel by a strap 28. This provides an adjustable means for securing the vest to the wearer for the straps 26 at the sides of the vest may be drawn up through the cooperating rings 21 until both frontand rear panels of the vest fit comfortably upon the wearer.

Fig. 1 shows the right and left sides 2hand respectively. These pockets may be of the patch type as shown at 39 where three edges of a piece of material are sewn to the panel portion 2lr, or of the bag type as shown at 3! where the open end edges of a bag are sewn to the edges of a slit in the panel portion ZIZ and a cover flap is provided. In either instance fasteners such as buttons and cooperating button holes or snap-fasteners 32 are provided for holding the pockets closed. In case buttons are used, the button 32 is sewn to the panel Zlr which button is received by a stitched button hole in the patch pocket of pocket flap.

Two similar pockets may be provided in the back panel 22 of the vest. In Fig. 2 only one pocket 33 is shown and that one is directly oppositethe pocket 3|. Like pocket 3|, this pocket 33 has buttons or fasteners 34 for holding said pocket closed.

One end of a flap 35 is sewn to the inside of panel 211 adjacent the front pocket 3|, said flap having a button hole reinforced as usual, by button hole stitching.

As stated in the preamble, the vest of the present invention is primarily intended to be worn over another garment during the feeding of an 4 vest. This cover is held in position by draw bands 5| similar to the bands 26 of the vest. A protective pad 52 fits over the cover and its ends extend into pockets and .are secured therein after the'manner shown and described by Figs. 1, 2 and 3 and the aforegoing paragraphs. One

a pocket 53 is shown in the Fig. 4.

infant for the purpose of protecting said other garment against soil and stain. To render the breast of the wearer available to the infant the vest must have several lowermost buttons or fasteners 24 disengaged in order torelea-se the one or other panel 2 Ir or 211 which may then be folded up as shown in Fig. 3. This permits opening of the under garment. The panels may be folded outwardly as shown in the Fig. 3 where the panel 2|r isshown folded outwardly, or as is shown in the same Fig. 3, where the panel 2l l is folded inwardly and its button 24 inserted in the button hole of the inside fiap'35 as shown particularly in 'Fig. 5. After theinfant is fed the panel portion may again be released from the pocket fastener andthe vest again be secured as shown in Fig. 1, 'or the vest may be entirely removed by the wearer.

Generally after feeding an infant gases will form within its abdomen which, if not discharged, will cause discomfort and irritability. It is the practice to place the infant stomach down over the shoulder of the attendant to cause eructation which is commonly known as burping, thereby facilitating the discharge of such gases through the mouth of the infant. Often ill smelling liquids are simultaneously discharged, which, when engaging the attendants garb soils and stains it. e

The present invention provides a protective garment to be worn during these processes which will prevent soiling and staining of the attendants garment. The vest 28, previously described, is provided with a protector pad 40 which may be made of any suitable, absorbent material. It may be made of a material that can be laundered and repeatedly used or it may be made of paper or the like and discarded after being used. As shown in Figs. 1, 2and 3, the protector pad .40 rests upon a shoulder of the vest 20 and extends over the adjacent portion of the front and rear panels 2| and 22 respectively. The on end of the pad 40 extends into pocket 3! while the other end of the pad extends into pocket 33. Reinforced holes similar to button holes with the well known button hole stitching adjacent the ends of the pad permit the fasteners 32 and 34, buttons in this instance, to extend l therethrough so that'when these fasteners are secured to hold the respective pockets closed, the ends of the pad extending thereinto are securely held in position thereby preventing accidental removal of the protector pad. Now when the infant is placed over the left shoulder for burping purposes and during the process staining liquid is discharged by the infant it will strike only the protector pad which absorbs it and then the pad may easily be removed by releasing fasteners 32 and 34. The vest and also the under garment of the attendant are thus completely protected and soiling thereof by such a process is entirely eliminated.

In the modified form shown in Fig. 4, a saddleshaped cover 50 may be placed and secured in position over the shoulder and adjacent front and rear areas instead of donning the complete From the aforegoing it may clearly be seen that the present invention provides a protective garment easily worn over the regular garment of the attendant. The protective garment substantiallyeliminates the possibility of soiling or staining the regular garment of the attendant during the feeding and especially during the burping of an infant after feeding.

While the embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosed, constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A maternity vest having front and rear pockets; fasteners to hold the pockets closed; and

an absorbent protector pad covering one shoulder and adjacent front and rear portions of the vest, the ends of the pad extending into respective front and rear pockets and retained therein by the fasteners; and cooperating means on the pockets andvest adapted to engage and hold a portion of the vest in upfolded position.

2. A maternity vest having front and rear pockets; fasteners releasably holding the pockets closed; and a protector pad for the one side of the vest, each end of the pad extendin into a respective front and rear pocket and having means thereon through which the fasteners extend to secure the pad to the vest; and cooperating fasteners on the front pocket and on a lower portion of the vest, adapted to engage and hold the said vest portion in 'upfolded position.

3. A maternity vest having front and rear patches secured thereto to form pockets; cooperating fastener means on the vest and patches, engageable to hold the pockets closed; and a-protector pad covering one shoulder of the vest and having its ends extending into respective front and rear pockets, each pad end having openings through which the fastener means extend to secure the pad on the vest.

4. A maternity vest having its front split in the middle and provided with a row of fasteners for holding the two front portions together; front and rear pockets in the vest, fasteners to hold the open ends of thepockets closed; a protective pad of absorbent material covering the one shoulder and adjacent front and rear portions of the vest, each end of the pad extending into a pocket and secured thereinby the pocket fasteners; and a fastener on the vest, adjacent the front pocket, cooperating with the lowermost fastener in the said row of fasteners to hold the one front portionof the-vest inan up folded position.

CLARENCE A. SCHUSTER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,244,656 Asch J une 10, 1941 

